Jordanian Political Analyst Bassam Badareen on Kidnapped Israeli Teens: There Are No Children in Israel, They Are All Soldiers

During a talk show on the Jordanian Roya TV channel discussing the recent kidnapping of three Israeli teens, political analyst Bassam Badareen said: "I believe that there are no children in Israel... I believe that in principle, they are soldiers, not children." Badareen, a former head of the Jordanian bureau of the London-based Al-Quds Al-Arabi newspaper, further said that the Israeli army and settlers "are experts in smuggling weapons and drugs, in spreading prostitution, and in sowing corruption among the Palestinians."

Following are excerpts from the talk show, which was posted on the Internet on June 22, 2014:

TV host: Some say that the [three Israelis] who were kidnapped are children. Their identity is not clear. Some say that they are teens, while others say that they are soldiers. In what way is the timing of this operation important?

Bassam Badareen: I believe that there are no children in Israel. I say this as a matter of principle. This racist, colonialist, expansionist country...

TV host: They don't know the meaning of the word "children"...

Bassam Badareen: If they did, they wouldn't be treating the Palestinians the way they do. They train their children to use weapons from the age of seven. We know that all Israelis are, in fact, soldiers.

On top of that, [the three who were kidnapped] are settlers. I believe that in principle, they are soldiers, not children.

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We always see pictures of children, especially settlers, shooting weapons. Dozens of wounded Palestinians, as well as martyrs, were shot by [Israeli] children.

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According to a scenario, discussed by the Israeli press and many other sources, drug-smuggling gangs were involved. There are many possible scenarios. The area from which they were kidnapped is rife with criminal activity. The Israeli occupation army, the settler gangs, and the settler youth are experts in smuggling weapons and drugs, in spreading prostitution, and in sowing corruption among the Palestinians, in Jerusalem, in Hebron, and elsewhere, and they have Palestinian accomplices.

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